Detecting the release of plastic particles in packaged drinking water under simulated light irradiation using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Plastic cups and bottles used for mineral water packaging may release plastic particles during continuous exposure to heat, light, or unfavorable chemical environments during transportation and storage. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be used to detect and analyze these plastic particles in a highly sensitive and quantitative manner. In this study, we used copper oxide/silver nanoparticles (CuO/Ag NPs) as the SERS substrate to monitor the release of plastic particles in packaged mineral water samples under irradiation as a function of exposure time. The lower detection limit for plastic particles using this CuO/Ag NP SERS system was 1.6 ng/mL. Our results showed that both plastic cups and bottles released particles under irradiation, however, the plastic cup samples degraded much more readily, with the particle concentration increasing considerably from 5.37 ± 0.11 ng/mL to 3751 ± 0.19 ng/ml over the total exposure time period of 240 min. In this study, we have demonstrated that SERS can provide a highly sensitive, rapid, and economical method for detecting plastic particle contamination caused by degradation of the plastic materials used in mineral water packaging.